Barbie Boy
by Miharu is Haruka's Love Child
Summary: Children rarely think before they act. In their eyes, the world is safe and innocent. It's adults who color everything in shades of danger. Six year olds Matt and Mello learn that the hard way. Mild shounenai. M/M
1. Boys will be girls?

Barbie Boy, chapter 1

**A/N:** _I was supposed to update White Chocolate today…that's not going to happen til later in the week or early next week, cuz I'm writing a birthday fic for ShinigamiMailJeevas and It's an epic 1-shot of DOOOM. Oh well. Yesterday was my birthday and this is my present to myself. I'm 19 now ^^" hope u guys like it._

_I actually have to thank/blame Atryel for this story. I got the idea from reading her "Childhood Fairytale" series. _

_Disclaimer: I'm Kira, bitches…and this is how I throw it down. See my mad "delete" sk1llz? Sa-ku-jo!_

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On Thursdays, Mr. Keehl would kiss his beautiful wife before he left for work. Like a normal average husband does. Mrs. Keehl would fry up some eggs and pancakes for her two sweet little angels, Mello and Misa. They would eat and Misa would walk to school, leaving Mello and mommy to themselves for a few hours. Like a normal average daughter should. Around lunchtime, Mrs. Keehl would pack a picnic and take her son to the park. She'd gossip with the other mothers and watch her child stumble around in the sand. Like a normal average hen-pecker acts. Little Mello would run around screaming in mirth, occasionally tripping and scraping his knee. Mommy and Mello would go home and she'd cook dinner while Mello played dress-up in his sisters clothes, shoes and makeup, playing with her dolls and dreaming he was a fairy princess. Like a normal avera—

"Mello! What do you think you are doing?" yelled Mrs. Keehl when she found her not so normal nor average son, with makeup all over his face, playing with a tea set.

See, most Thursdays, Misa played at a friend's house and Mello played alone. Mrs. Keehl allowed her son to do nearly anything he wanted…but to her dismay, the boy's interest lay in feminine pastimes. Mello's favorite game was to play dress up, serving "tea" (it was really apple juice) to his sister's Barbies and teddy bears. This Thursday was no exception.

He didn't understand why he couldn't wear a dress, paint his face, and put on jewelry. Mello felt pretty when he clicked around in Misa's plastic heels, gazing at his reflection to see which faux boa matched the ring pop on his finger. Mello felt powerful when he saw how his shiny hair glittered in the light with the bright barrettes he'd clipped in place. The only excuse his mother gave him was that 'boys don't do those things.'

"Mommy! Would you like a cookie?" asked the small six-year-old, holding up a plastic plate that held pieces of paper colored to look like oreos.

"Mello. Please get out of your sister's clothes. Your father will be home soon. Boys do not wear dresses."

"But I look like a princess!" cried the blond boy, his blue eyes watering. It hurt that his mommy didn't want him to look beautiful. "You only love Misa! That's why you let her look pretty! You hate me! You hate me! You hate me!"

Mello hated days like this, when his mother was especially difficult with him. She simply didn't understand his need to express himself. And truly, what was wrong with wearing dresses and playing tea party? Misa did it all the time and no one yelled at her...His family simply couldn't love him as much as her if she got to do all the fun things while he simply wasn't allowed.

When night fell on this particular Thursday, Leanne Keehl found that she couldn't sleep. She nudged her husband until he was sitting up in the bed, elbows propped as he rested a hand on his chin. They talked about their son and his disconcerting behavior.

"We have to do something about that boy, Jacob. He's going to start school soon. We can't let him embarrass our parenting by pulling one of his stunts."

"I know Leanne. I know..." sighed Mello's father.

Jacob Keehl was even less amused with his son's antics than his wife was. He resolved that he'd stamp the nonsense out of his boy. No son of his would act like a sissy. He'd make Mello see the error of his ways...even if it killed him.

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_**A/N**: Yo, Mello adorableness ftw, right? Do you hate mello's family? do you?_

_We'll meet Matt in the next chapter. :D_

_Leave me a review, yeah? It'll be like a birthday present to me. :D_


	2. First Tiss

Barbie Boy, Chapter 2

**A/N:**_ OMG I LOVE YOU GUYS! This story beat my record for most reviews on a first chapter. ^^" You guys are so cute and I really appreciate it. So, OMG my laptop charger cable set on fire yesterday and I had to go order a new which won't come in for a few days so I won't be publishing stuff cuz I won't have a computer! XD but umn, yeah. It should come in by like Friday. HOPEFULLY._

_Umn, no we can't kill off Mello's parents, although you're really going to want to! I'd just like to state this right now, Matt and Mello are not getting older than 6 years old in this story. Therefore, no lemons…sort of…umn, you'll see what I mean a few chapters (ahem, the things little kids do when playing dress up XD) ANYWAYS…something that kind of bothers me is this: nobody has questioned why I'm writing a 6-year-olds' love story in the M-section. Kudos if you can guess why._

_Oh and, Matt mispronounces stuff. So when you see stuff like 'tiss' instead of 'kiss' or "tofeat' instead of defeat, those aren't typos. ^_^ Oh c'mon use your imagination._

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"I gotta peep!"

"Matt! I told you to go to the bathroom before we left the house and you said you didn't need to."

"That's umn, 'cuz I was busy, but now I gotta peep really badly." Squeaked the freckled boy, his legs shaking hard against his booster seat.

"Can you hold it until we get to the park?" sighed Gina Jeevas. Her son's head bobbed up and down in a resounding 'yes.'

"What were you 'busy' doing, Matt, that you couldn't go to the bathroom?"

"Well I had to tofeat the goombas and then Bowser went all shoom shoom shoom," Matt used his hands for emphasis, " and Mario, he…he…umn, he umn…did this thing with the fire that made all this asplosion and then it was all flying in space and umn, umn then I got a shell. "

Mrs. Jeevas wondered vaguely if enrolling him in school would end her son's loquaciousness. Her hope quickly died however, as the redheaded boy continued to explain the many functions of using a 'nocket nozzle' and a 'yoshi'…whatever those things were. And while she was more than a bit peeved that the child spent more time playing with video games than with other children, she couldn't help but smile as he explained how he wanted to 'save the princess' from whatever a 'Bowser' was.

"Why do you want to save the princess, Matt? Don't tell me you're in _looooove_ with her!" teased the woman, a few loose auburn strands flying into her mouth.

"_Mooooom!_ Don't talk about my girlfriend like that!" Matt gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Pfft!" Gina nearly missed the intersection to turn into the park, so amused she was with her son and his imagination that she didn't pay full attention to the road.

"Don't laugh! Someday I'm really going to save a princess. And then umn, we'll get married and tiss and live in a castle with a fountain of chocolate milk! And no one will tell us to stop eating cookies. Umn. Umn. But you can't come." He huffed, crossing his arms.

Matt Jeevas wasn't the most social of children, but he had a lot of energy. He loved it when his mom took him to the park, because he could run around and scream and jump with complete strangers. There was something safe about not making friends. Friends hurt you. Or at least that's what Matt's cousin Near always told him. _Don't get close to people_, he'd say, _they only make you cry_. Matt didn't like crying. Matt liked laughing, but not when his mom laughed at him, because that was just mean. He wasn't going to talk to her if she was going to be mean to him.

Matt's mother sat on a bench, watching her child interact with the other children. There was a blonde woman sitting next to her, a copy of _Vogue_ spread across her lap. Mrs. Jeevas eyed her a bit before speaking.

"Do you mind if I light up?"

The blonde woman looked up sharply, her magazine dropping to the floor, "You'd smoke in a public park where children play?"

"I…" Gina sighed, but decided to remain civil, "If it bothers you, I won't. But yes, I would like a nice boost of nicotine right now."

"Maybe if you had kids, you'd understand. Second-hand smoke is dangerous for kids to—" but the blonde was cut off.

"Excuse me? First of all, I am a mother myself. Secondly, I was courteous enough to ask if it bothered you. You think you're all high and mighty that you can just lecture me? Honey, have you seen yourself in the mirror? Those love handles aren't what they were when you were fifteen, now are they? Take care of your own body before you preach to others about theirs."

Both women had clenched their fists. The dislike was instantaneous and mutual. They sat in utter silence for a full ten minutes before another blonde woman walked up and spoke to first.

"Halle! Thanks so much for watching Mello for me while I took Misa to the dentist. You're a life-saver." Gushed Leanne Keehl, hugging the woman who sat on the bench.

"No problem, Leanne. " Halle said to blond lady. They said their goodbyes and the woman sat down, noticing the sour look on the redhead's face.

"Hi, my name is Leanne, my son is playing around here somewhere." Mrs. Keehl extended her hand.

Mrs. Jeevas shook with her, replying, "I'm Gina, nice to meet you. My boy is the little red fluff ball in the stripes, over there by the swings."

The blonde woman squinted, "The one in the goggles?"

"Yeah! That's my Matt. He needed glasses as an infant but how do you keep such things on a baby, right? So the optometrist suggested prescription goggles. He's always worn them."

"How funny!"

The two women chatted for a while, learning that they lived merely blocks away from each other. The Jeevas family was new in the neighborhood and Mrs. Keehl was quick to offer any assistance to her new neighbors. They hardly paid attention to their children until the goggled child ran up to his mother, flushed with excitement.

"Mom! Mom! Guess what?"

"What honey?"

"I have a girlfriend." Piped up little Matt, a smile taking over his whole face. "She looks just like Princess Peach!"

"Really? What's her name, honey?"

"Ummn…ah!" he slapped his hand to his forehead. "I forgot to ask her!"

Leanne smiled at Gina, "They want to grow up so fast, don't they?"

Matt's mother laughed in response. Both women watched the boy run up to a blonde child who was sitting alone on a swing. The children's verbal exchange ended with Matt pecking the other lightly on the lips, much to the amusement of Mrs. Jeevas. Mrs. Keehl, however, seemed in shock.

"Something wrong?" The redhead asked.

The blond woman swallowed deeply before answering. "Umn, I'm afraid there's been some kind of misunderstanding. That child isn't a little girl. That's my son, Mello."

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_Matt's mom is a lot more likeable than Mello's parents. And omgosh! Sorry but I LOVE his interactions with Mello! :D_

_Umn,,, review please?_


	3. Cops and Cradle Robbers

Barbie Boy Chapter 3: Cops and (Cradle)Robbers

**A/N:**_Thank you everyone for all your wonderful reviews and support. I'm happy so many of you are liking it. ^^"_

_To Flamablechoklit: I made something for your canon? *blushes* I feel awesome now! Thanks for telling me that._

_To ShadowDancer666: The usual person sends her usual message. She also wants to know if she can be your Mikami…*run away I say! Run away!*_

_To everyone who tried to guess why this story is rated M….none of you were quite right…but that's okay._

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"Metal!"

"No, no. My name is Mello. Meh-low."

"Meadow."

Mello didn't understand why the little red-haired boy couldn't get his name right. He smacked his head in irritation…and his eyes immediately started to water.

"Owww" Mello cried as he clutched his forehead.

"Are you okay, Meadow?" asked Matt, leaning in to the other child, wiping a few blond strands out of his eyes. Matt didn't like seeing his new 'girlfriend' cry.

"Don't cry. Please don't cry. You'll make me sad You're too pretty to cry!" the striped boy leaned in and kissed the other on the lips, hoping it would make 'her' feel better.

Mello stopped crying and looked up at the other child. Matt had called him pretty…and he was smiling. His parents never smiled when he tried to look pretty in front of them…they usually yelled at him. But this boy, this boy was telling him that he was pretty, and he kissed him! The only people he ever saw kissing were married couples. Did…did that mean he and this boy were getting married? Mello didn't know how to react to that. Was he supposed to kiss Matt back? He was too confused to make a decision and instead threw his arms around the other boy and hugged him tight.

"Mello!"

The boy looked up to see his mother approaching quickly. Mrs. Keehl was being followed by a lady with red curly hair.

"Mello! Why did you let him kiss you?" she said again, pulling him away from Matt.

Mello frowned. His mother wasn't going to make him stop playing with Matt, was she? His parents always did things like that. They took away all the things that made him feel good and happy about himself.

"Matt," said the redheaded lady. "Matt, sweetie, I'm sorry but your new friend is a boy. Please tell him you're sorry for kissing him."

Matt looked up at his mom, confusion clouding his eyes. His princess was a boy? He looked back at Mello, who stared at him with his big beautiful eyes. If Mello wasn't a girl, then he was the most beautiful boy Matt had ever seen.

"You're a boy?" he asked the other child.

Mello nodded slowly. Yes, he was a boy…but why had the lady told Matt to apologize? Didn't Matt think he was pretty? Didn't he like him? Would he stop playing with Mello because he was a boy? But the goggled child merely shrugged.

"Okay, Meadow's a boy. But I tissed him because he was crying. "

"Honey, you need to tell him that you're sorry. You might have hurt his feelings."

Mrs. Keehl looked expectantly at Matt. It was undignified that the child had…had…had _kissed_ her Mello! But she let the slight slide because after all, it was simple misunderstanding. A simply apology would make everything go away and she could laugh about it later…as long her husband didn't find out. Mr. Keehl would be furious that she'd let such a thing happen while the boy was in her care.

"He didn't hurt my feelings!" cried Mello, suddenly releasing his mother's hand.

"You didn't hurt my feelings." He repeated as he hugged Matt again. He wrapped his fingers around Matt's hand and turned to his mother. "Mommy, can we play now?"

Mrs. Keehl sighed…_It's innocent,_ she told herself. _They can't know what they were doing. _She smiled at her son, and nodded. Kids do things without knowing. She knew she'd be making a big deal out of the situation would only make it worse, so she didn't push the issue…for the moment. Silently, she reminded herself that someone would need to be done about the boy. If he could be so easily mistaken for a girl…and not even have qualms about being kissed by another boy…something drastic needed to be done.

The women watched their children play for a while longer. Since there were no other 'incidents', Leanne Keehl decided that the Jeevas kid was safe enough if her son wanted to play with him some more. Perhaps being around another boy would encourage him to engage in more masculine activities. Leanne and Gina exchanged their contact information with a promise to meet again and Mrs. Keehl offered to introduce the Jeevas family to other respectable families in the neighborhood.

She couldn't know how disastrous such an offer would be…

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_Oh no! What could be coming next? And honestly, if you don't hate Mrs. Keehl right now, you WILL after the next chapter. XD We're going to meet Matt's father next...which will be...interesting to say the least. ^^"_

_review please. ^^"_


	4. My Bridesmaid Was a Toy Soldier

Barbie Boy Chapter 4: My Bridesmaid was a Toy Soldier

**A/N**:_ Hi everybody! Damn…this story is getting an overwhelming response…is it the short chapters or the subject matter? Yay! 1000 hits! Oh and I should be updating White Chocolate by Friday/Saturday… Anyhow, now we add a little drama! Gasp!

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Mrs. Keehl decided to hold a Tupperware party to introduce Mrs. Jeevas to some of the other women in the city. Gina wasn't thrilled at the idea—her usual method of making friends consisted of a keg of Tequila and a round of poker—but she promised herself she'd give it a chance.

Matt couldn't wait to go to Mello's house. He mentioned it over breakfast..He talked about it as he watched his Squirtle evolve into a Wartortle. He even drew a picture of 'Princess Meadow' and stuck it on the fridge. Although, he was sad when his yellow crayon broke and he couldn't finish coloring his hair.

"Ummn…Umn…and when we go to Meadow's House, I'm going to show him my army men. And we can umn…play Battle Ship. Right, mom? Umn..and we can make all the vegibitals asplode!"

Matt hated vegetable. He thought broccoli was some kind of 'alium brains'. Mushrooms frustrated him. The striped child couldn't fathom why eating them didn't make him grow big like a mountain or tiny like a flower…When Mario ate mushrooms, he could run super fast and knock out 'Koopas'…His mom surely was buying broken mushrooms if they couldn't do any of those things. He'd be sure to ask Mello if he knew where you could get some magic mushrooms.

The morning of the Tupperware party, Leanne asked her children to stay out of sight and to behave. Misa was supposed to watch over Mello, and when he came, Matt. She wasn't keen on thle plan, however, as she would much rather stal—Ahem…'watch' the neighbor boy playing tennis. She often watched the kid, Light Yagami, as he played tennis and badminton with his friends. Sometimes he'd even play with her brother, which gave Misa an excuse to talk to Light. Mello didn't mind that Misa barely paid attention to him, as long as she let him borrow her pretty things like her dresses, hair accessories, stuffed animals, and anything else he fancied. And Misa wasn't selfish…just a little distracted, but she understood the importance of wanting to impress a friend. So when Mello told her about Matt coming, she decided to be as helpful as she could.

When Mrs. Keehl ushered Matt into the playroom, her son was nowhere in sight.

"He's hiding." The blonde girl blinked at her mother. "He wanted to play hide and seek with his friend."

The mother smiled because hide and seek was a perfectly non-gendered game. She left Matt alone with Misa and returned to her entourage of guests. The two children looked at each other awkwardly until Misa led Matt to an elaborately decorated plastic tea-table. There was a set of chairs, each occupied by a stuffed animal. Cookies and apple juice were on the table. Matt sat down and Mello suddenly emerged from inside a large wardrobe, wearing a long white summer dress and Misa's shiniest plastic heels. He was holding a bouquet of dandelions. A top his head was one of those flimsy paper crowns you get from Burger King when it's your birthday…

Matt stared, his mouth open a little, "You really _are_ a princess!"

Mello smiled because he felt just like a princess, and he couldn't help but want to think that Matt was his handsome prince. They'd even kissed already!

"Let's play dragon!" Misa piped up suddenly, gnashing her teeth together and stomping towards her brother with her hands spread into 'claws'.

"No! Save me!" cried Mello.

Matt picked up cookie from the table and threw it towards the blonde girl. It hit Misa squarely between the eyes.

"Oww."

Mello ran to Matt and flung his arms around him, thanking him for saving him from the 'mean dragon'. Matt stared sheepishly at the blond boy; Mello was even prettier when he smiled. Suddenly, he touched his lips to Matt's cheek. Mello backed away a little to see the redhead's reaction, unsure if his game would work or not. But Matt only smiled, his grin ever widening, because surly, he'd just saved a princess, which meant….

"Does this mean we get married now?" he asked his friend.

Mello was the happiest he'd ever been as he clutched Matt's arm as the two of them stood before Misa, who held a coloring book in her hand, reciting their 'vows' together.

"I promise to always give Mello my chocolate pudding and hug him when he cries."

"I promise to always make Matt smile, and punch anyone who hurts him."

"You can kiss now." Said Misa, wiping real tears from her eyes.

And kiss they did.

Thus Matt and Mello got 'married' while the women in the house, entirely oblivious to the ceremony taking place just a few rooms away, crowded around Mrs. Jeevas to ask her questions.

"Well, we've only lived here for two weeks, so I'm not familiar with anything, really…" She began.

"What kind of jobs do you and your husband have?" came a pompous voice that Gina recognized as Halle Lidner, the woman she'd argued with in the park.

"My husband is a marine. I used to be as well, but when my son was born, I took an indefinite leave of absence."

"Oh! A real patriot. How refreshing. It must be lonely for you when your husband isn't around…"

The women continued like this for a very long time. They asked rather prying questions that Gina either dismissed or dodged. She found that she didn't particularly like these women, and was only too glad when her husband called on her cell phone to say he was around the corner and was coming to pick them up. When the doorbell rang, Leanne Keehl went to fetch it, like a good hostess should.

"Hi. My name is Asisclo. I'm here to pick up my wife and son. You must be Leanne. Nice to meet you." the man extended his hand towards Mrs. Keehl.

She could only stare at the soldier in front of her.

He frowned at her lack of response, "This _is _the Keehl residence, isn't it?"

Leanne found that she could nod, but she would not take the man's hand. She would not shake it. She would pretend he wasn't standing there on her doorstep, breathing the same air as her and her house of guests. Because of all the things Gina Jeevas had described about her husband, she'd left out one key detail, something that could cause only problems with the neighbors and the community at large. Mr. Jeevas would never be accepted there, nor would anyone else like him…Suddenly Leanne felt anger well up inside her. She'd been played a fool! Instead of inviting the man inside, she slammed the door on his face. Then she walked right back into her living room and glared at the redheaded woman sitting on her couch.

"Why didn't you say that your husband was black?"

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_*cringes* Yeah. Multi-racial families don't rly get a good reception in that community, and Mello's parents are not exempt from the bigotry. This will definitely affect Matt and Mello's "marriage"! Anyhow, thanks for reading. Hope you liked it. Hope you hate Mrs. Keehl lots. You'll hate her more as time passes…_

_Oh and, Matt and Mello get a little naughty in the next chapter. :D Hey, it's a honeymoon after all..._

_Review please? Since the chapters are so short, I might be persuaded to update every 1-2 days if you guys really really like this story. ^^"_


	5. Boo Boo's and No No's

Barbie Boy Chapter 5: Boo Boo's and No No's

**A/N: **_sorry this is late. I got disinterested after ShinigamiMailJeevas and I had an rp that ended in Mello walking away from sex cuz Matt said he wasn't cutting it as of late…fucking video games!_

_Ahem. Anyhow. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS/ALERTS/FAVES! God, if everyone w/an alert subscription reviewed…I think I'd die from the sheer epicness. (Hey I can dream, right?)_

_Poll on my profile: If you could plan Leanne Keehl's demise, how would you kill her? Plz vote…(no that doesn't necessarily mean she will die, I'm just curious about what you'd do)_

_I'm going on hiatus for a few days…maybe even a whole week…

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Gina and Leanne locked eyes before the redheaded woman stood. She looked at the room around her, the laced doilies on the table, the obnoxious grandfather clock in the far right, the women in their flower-patterned dresses and perms. Everything in the room made her sick, like she was sitting with her girl friends in Barbie's Doll House, only none of them were children anymore and Gina couldn't understand this world of plastic and facades. She knew what was important in life: family, love, happiness. She'd left to war a young girl of 18 and come home a woman, having survived the harsh realities of killing another human being for the sake of freedom. Being with the marines was the most eye-opening experience of her life, and made her promise to never take life for granted.

The moment she slapped Leanne Keehl hard across the jaw, was nothing short of keeping that promise.

Common courtesy aside, she spat at her hostess' face, "What the fuck is your problem, all of you?"

Mrs. Keehl had doubled backwards, crashing into the loveseat behind her and landing on two of her guests. She rubbed at the red marks on her skin, wide-eyed at the assailant.

Outside the house, Asisclo Jeevas stared the door. The blonde woman had slammed it in his face. He was ignored as he further rang the bell. As Mr. Jeevas turned around to sit on the porch, he couldn't shake woman's face from his mind: her eyes held deep disgust.

It was happening all over again…When the Jeevas' had lived in his native Brazil, they'd had none of the problems they now faced. People in this side of the country took one look at Asisclo's skin color and shunned him. It was downright sickening. Not only was he a U.S. marine, he was a man, and a human being dammnit! He'd put up with it…for the moment, because this was the town they'd stationed him in, and he was above their petty insults.

A car pulled up and a tall man walked out. He frowned when he saw the other man on his porch. Jacob Keehl hated solicitors and wasn't going to take crap from whoever it was trying to sell whatever they were pawning off on people. Worse, even…the man on his porch was black! The sheer audacity of it brought hostility from Mr. Keehl. He was, however, a reasonable man (at least by his own measures) and decided not to cuss the intruder away.

"Whoever you are, we're not buying, now get off my property before I call the police."

Mr. Jeevas stood and regarded the other man carefully.

"I am Sergeant Jeevas," he introduced himself, "and I am here to pick up my wife and child. The woman who answered the door slammed it on my face."

The effect was immediate. Jacob knew his wife wouldn't have let the man inside the house—her prejudice ran deep. However, the man before him was a soldier, and with rank! Mr. Keehl put his personal feelings aside and put out his hand, "Sergeant? My, my, my…I am terribly sorry. How rude of Leanne."

A plan formed in Jacob's mind. If he could get Mello to hang around the manly discipline of a soldier, then maybe the boy had hope of shaking his sick little habits. Mr. Keehl apologized again and again, and faked a smile at Mr. Jeevas. After introductions came an offer for a drink, which Asisclo found most hospitable and the two men entered the house with an air of mutual cordiality.

Away from the petty arguments from the adult world, the children focused on their simple pleasures.

Matt took Mello's hand and laced his fingers through the blonde's, blinking shyly at his 'bride' after they broke away from their wedding kiss.

"So now we go on our hubbymoon, right?"

Mello nodded at his new 'husband', "Where do you want to go?"

"A castle!"

"But there are dragons in castles…"

"Chucky Cheese's then!"

It was Misa however, who decided. They were going on a Hawaiian 'macation' because Misa had grass skirts and coconuts and leis hidden in the dress-up closet. After handing some to her brother and his friend, she went to change in her own room, leaving them alone. Yet as much as he wanted to change, Mello had trouble slipping his dress up over his head.

"Matt, will you help me take this off."

"Okay."

Matt tugged the white garment as hard as he could, but when it was finally untangled from Mello's head, the force of pulling sent him off balance. The redhead fell on top of Mello, his elbow pushing painfully against the other child's private parts. Mello cried out as the redhead scrambled off of him, apologizing. And he melted under the tears that fell from the blonde's eyes.

"Don't cry Meadow! Please don't cry!"

But Mello would not be comforted, even as Matt tried to hug him. Suddenly, an idea struck him and he bent low until he was nearly over his friend. In a swift movement, the striped child placed his lips against the fabric of Mello's underwear, right on the injured flesh. Mello stopped crying, though more from shock of the touch than from the kiss assuaging away the pain.

"What are you doing?"

"Tissing your boo-boo so it feels better." Replied Matt, scooting away slightly to look at his friend. "That is what my mom does when I get hurt."

Matt didn't like the bewildered look on the blonde's face, "Are you mad at me?"

"You hurt my tinkle."

"I am sorry Meadow! I didn't mean too."

Something in the back of Mello's mind told him that it was wrong for Matt to touch him there. His mother had once said not to let anyone touch him there, ever. But the concern that flickered through the readhead's eyes was too heartwarming to ignore. Mello wouldn't risk ruining their friendship over something so small, especially since, it was cute that Matt wanted to make him feel better. Mello felt powerful again, that someone cared about him like that. So instead of getting angry, Mello did the next thing that came into his mind—he asked Matt to kiss it again.

The second time, it tickled, and the blonde couldn't help but giggle at the touch… It didn't hurt so much anymore, so Mello was happy. He hugged Matt and gave him a small peck on his lips in return.

Neither child had noticed when the door to the playroom had opened…or that there was an adult staring at them, inches from pulling them apart...

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_XD yeah, Mello called his dick his "tinkle"_

_Told ya they were going to get a little naughty...Do you know who walked in on their 'hubbymoon?'_

_review plz?_


	6. Shuckle Up!

Barbie Boy Chapter 6: Shuckle Up!

_A/N: I had to rewrite this chapter 3 times because the first few were tries were total shit. _

_Profanities have increased this chapter, oh my! I don't know why, but it feels awfully dirty writing swearwords into this fic XD_

_It was suggested that I change the summary, so and I think the new fits this fic a lot better. It might not show up for a few hours, but those of you can see it, what do you think?

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_

Halle Lidner was not in the living room when Mrs. Jeevas slapped Mrs. Keehl. If she had been there, she'd have tried to break Gina's knee-caps for messing with her little sister. Instead, she had gone to the bathroom and as an afterthought wanted to check in on her niece and nephew. She wasn't so keen on that Jeevas woman and was wary about her sister's children playing with the Jeevas kid. Knocking on Mello's door gave no response so she rap-tapped her knuckles a few times on Misa's. The little blonde was setting herself up in a Hawaiian grass skirt and trying to pin a flower in her hair.

"Misa, why are you all alone?"

"Oh hi Auntie Halle! I just came in here to fix my costume. We're playing dress up in the play room. Come play with us!"

The woman followed the child into the playroom across the hall. Misa stiffened the moment she stepped into the room. She slapped her hands to her mouth.

"Misa, what's…wrong?"

Halle gasped immediately at the sight within the room. That…that redheaded _thing_ was touching Mello, no was _molesting _him.

She wasted no time in rushing towards the boys and screaming at the Jeevas kid, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get away from him! And you!" She screamed at Mello next, "Put your clothes on this instant."

Matt shrunk away from the blonde woman who tried to snatch him up in her grasp. She was scaring him and he didn't know why she was yelling like that. Had he done something wrong? Whatever the reason for her anger, she was making Mello crouch in the corner and cry.

"Explain yourselves!" she demanded.

"We weren't doing anything," sniffed Mello as Misa helped him pull his shirt back on.

"Mello, did you let him touch you," the woman gestured wildly towards her own private parts before whispering, "down there?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me, I saw everything! I'm taking you to your parents right now. And you!" she rounded on Matt, "are a sick, disgusting little fuck."

Matt didn't know what those words meant, really, but the way she said them made him cry. He couldn't help it and just sat on the floor and let the tears come. The blonde woman was _so _mean to them. He hadn't done anything wrong! He hadn't! He hadn't! She didn't have to pinch his arm like that! She didn't have to pull him roughly and give him dirty looks!

Mello was both scared and hurt. Auntie Halle would tattle on them and he would get in trouble…maybe his mother wouldn't even let him play with Matt anymore. He didn't want that to happen! The blond boy decided that he wouldn't let her take his friend away. Mello lunged at his aunt, kicking and screaming and repeating the profanities she'd said to the Jeevas boy.

In the main living room of the house, the mothers of those children were fighting in a most shameless fashion. It was an all out brawl over the Keehls' coffee table. Gina and Leanne were screaming and clutching at each other's throats, all senses of decorum lost. It wasn't until two strong sets of hands pried the women apart that any of the other guests dared breathe aloud. The commotion had drawn two spectators from the kitchen, who after setting their beers down, apprehended the women. Who else would touch the sparring women other than their husbands?

It was Mr. Keehl who spoke first, clutching his wife who could barely contain the feral gleam in her eyes. "Whoa, whoa, now just what is going on here, Leanne?"

"Let me go Asisclo!" growled Gina as she struggled in her husband's grasp.

"Get out of my house!" screamed Mrs. Keehl as she collapsed on one of the couches.

Leanne Keehl forgot the pain in her jaw, ignored the blood that trickled from the split in her lip…she merely glared at the Jeevas couple in front of her, the wild red curls of the woman and the ebony skin of her husband seemed so out of place in her house. She glanced around at her guests who were all shifting uncomfortably in their places.

"Well?" Asisclo turned to his wife, "What happened here?"

"She insulted us and I hit her. Then the bitch and I got into it. What the fuck does it look like?"

The cause could have been Leanne's initial racist outburst, or the fight that ensued, or the entrance of a black man in the house… whatever the reason, the tension surmounted to stunned silence.

"I…I think it's pretty clear what happened here," sighed Mr. Jeevas, the pain in his tone apparent. "We're obviously not welcome and it's about time we left, wouldn't you agree, Gina?"

He squeezed his wife's shoulder and she hung her head in annoyance. These people…these people were not and would never be her friends. She didn't really give a fuck…her family didn't need any of them. The only one who'd truly be disappointed would be Matt. He had been so excited about his new friend.

But kids get over these things quickly, right?

"Umn…I think it's time we all left," suggested one of the other guests.

"No need to make even more of a fuss on our behalf," the redheaded woman wanted to keep her dignity intact. "We'll just collect our son be out of your hair now."

The other ladies gave their excuses of how late it was getting or how their own families needed tending to. One by one, they stood, quickly, and hurriedly said their goodbyes. Leanne huffed and made to lock the door after her guests when the sounds of her sister cussing sent her right back into the living room. Halle trudged into the room holding the two struggling boys in front of her.

"Don't touch my child!" shrieked Gina as she rushed forward to pull her boy away from the blonde bitch.

"Touch your child? _Touch your child_? I don't know what kind of fucked up people you are but whatever you're teaching that son of yours is sick. Your kid was…was molesting Mello!"

There was dead silence as everyone stared at Halle. Eyes shifted from her to the boys. Leanne made a choking noise.

"You're lying!" Mello kicked Halle hard on the shin and she yelled out.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed Misa forward, "Misa tell them what we saw when we walked in."

The girl stared at aunt, completely doe-eyed. One glare from her father sent her mouth gabbing off.

"He," she pointed to Matt, "had h-his mouth on his," she pointed to Mello, "umn… on his…you know."

Misa smoothed out her skirt and patted herself down in her private area. Leanne rushed to her son and her husband paled.

Mello actually burst into tears, "I hurt myself and he was just trying to kiss the pain away. Don't be mad, please don't be mad!"

"Is this true?" Gina asked her son, who nodded as he clutched to her.

"Monster! Call the police! Call the police! I wanna press charges on these people! How could you do this to my baby?"

Mr. Keehl was a few steps ahead of his wife; he'd already dialed the number was patiently explaining the situation to the dispatcher, "…yes that's right, and possibly child or domestic abuse as well. Uh-huh, that's the address, thank you."

He hung up and turned to the Jeevas family who were glaring at him, "You better have one damn good lawyer."

"I don't know what your game is here," countered Mr. Jeevas, "but you're not going to get away with treating my family this way."

The men's fists were balled and clenched, and if the police hadn't walked in through the open front door, a fight would have broken out for the second time in the Keehl's living room. The officers escorted the five adults and three children down to the precinct for questioning and much filing of paperwork. It was humiliating and infuriating for all parties, especially the two boys who wouldn't stop crying. After several hours of hearing stories from all sides, the police declared that there was no crime had been committed where the children were concerned, but they explained to Matt and Mello that they should never repeat their actions. A report was kept on file, but the families were told they could go home.

Gina Jeevas, however, didn't get to leave the station that night. Leanne's cuts and bruises were enough to land the redhead in jail for the night under assault and battery charges.

As she was pushed into her cell for the night, she couldn't help but think about how much she regretted moving her family there. Little did she know, she was going to get very well acquainted with that cell.

* * *

_Oooh, foreshadowing XD XD_

_Beginning the next chapter, we have a time skip to where they start school. And, I'm excited because I actually went down to visit a kindergarten to observe them…sooo I hope the playground scenes are realistic. XD_

_Thanks for reading. Did you like it?_


	7. Cereal Killer

Barbie Boy Chapter 7: Cereal Killer

A/N: _wow, almost 200 reviews. And 6K hits! You guys are incredibly awesome. :D That's insane for the length on this fic. ^^" I'm actually a little bit scared how seriously some of you are taking this story. I've got people analyzing it in the reviews. I'm not sure if I should be honored or scared shitless._

_That being said, Barbie Boy's introduction has officially ended and this chapter marks a move into the middle plot of the story. I'm so fucking excited it's scary. XD_

_*cough* and I've finally gotten around to reading Trigun like all my buddies did when we were thirteen. It's fucking amazing; I think I'm gonna start writing in that fandom too. *heart*I love it better than I love Jhonen Vasquez comics. Almost blasphemous, yes?_

* * *

Misa was watching _America's Next Top Model_ in the living room while Mrs. Keehl cooked dinner. She pouted in exasperation as the program was interrupted by a flashing news report.

"Breaking News. This just in," began the man on the television, "Authorities have issued an official Amber Alert for ten-year old Lucia Luca. She was abducted from her home in the early hours of Tuesday as she played in the front yard…"

The little girl's picture caught Misa's attention as the newscaster went on to explain about a recent string of missing girls. Her eyes were bright blue and her hair was almost the same golden shade as her own and Mello's…

"We cannot say for sure if Lucia's disappearance is connected with the recent string of kidnappings in the area, but police are concerned that this might be the work of a serial kidnapper. In the past four months, six young girls have been abducted from different areas around the interstate, each between the ages of seven and twelve, and all with striking blonde hair and blue eyes." The newscaster hung his head low as each missing child was shown on the screen, "Not a single girl has been found, alive or otherwise. We are begging the community, if you know any information that could lead to young Lucia's or any of these girls' rescues, please call our hotline number."

Misa couldn't help from shivering at all those smiling faces as they faded from the screen and the regular programming returned. She lifted herself from the couch and walked into the kitchen where her mother was pulling a roast from the oven.

"Mommy…when someone steals you away, it's to kill you, right? All those girls on the TV, they're gonna die, aren't they?"

Leanne Keehl blinked at Misa. Since when did that child have such morbid thoughts?

"Oh, Misa…what makes you say that?"

Leanne left her roast alone and walked over to her daughter, hugging her tightly. She didn't quite know how to respond so she tried to convey as much sense of safety into the embrace as she could. She also made a mental note to buy her daughter some pepper spray. Her thoughts were cut-off, however, at the slamming of the door and entrance of her son and husband. Jacob Keehl had a sour grin on his face, but Mello was positively irate. He marched towards his mother and spit at her, fists swinging. In surprise, she fell backwards against the counter and instantly seared her hand against the hot metal of her roast pan.

"Jesus Christ, Mello!" his mother yelped in surprise.

She grabbed the boy around the waist and despite his struggling, she lay him across her knee before whacking his rump with her uninjured hand. His glare was icy as she shoved him off her skirt.

"No son of mine is going to treat me that way. Go to your room! You're not coming out to dinner until you've thought about your actions and are ready to apologize."

"I hate you! I hate you! I wish you weren't my family!"

She'd never admit it, but Mello's words were like a knife in her side. For a brief moment, Leanne remembered when she was young and had promised that if she ever had children, she'd be a better mother than her own had been. Mello was pushing her to her limits. Mrs. Keehl, stunned, slid to the floor in silence while her husband marched out to the front porch with a beer in his hand. It wasn't his fault that Leanne couldn't assert her authority properly. At least the boy wasn't acting like a pussy and bawling his eyes out. Jacob chuckled to himself…phase one of 'manning-up' his son was complete.

Not wanting to be in the same room with his parents for longer than necessary, Mello ran to his room, slamming the door behind him and throwing himself on his bed. His little hand clenched the bedcovers tightly as he smothered his face into the tear-soaked pillow of his bed. How could his daddy do such a horrible thing to him? How? And his mommy just let Jacob do it. They simply didn't love him, that was it. Mello began to kick at the comforter in frustration.

"Mello?" a sudden knock at the door only intensified the boy's rage.

"Go away! I hate you!"

"Mello, please look at me." Misa opened the door and edged her way towards her brother with caution: while they usually got along with ease, Mello wasn't above biting her when he was upset with life.

The boy flinched as her fingers lightly raked against the newly-sheared hairs on his scalp, "Don't touch it. It's ugly."

"You're still you, Mello, your hair's just shorter," and with that, the blonde girl planted a kiss on the boy's head and left the room without another word.

Mello sniffled as he sat up, touching his hand to his hair like Misa had. He let his feet drop to the wooden floorboards and shuffled out of his room, seeking the bathroom. Standing on the toilet seat, he leaned over the sink to catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

Gone. All of it.

His beauty…his power…it was all gone in the few snips of the barber's scissors.

He would be starting school the next day, something he'd been looking forward to because he would get to see his friend Matt again. He hadn't seen Matt since the _incident_and Mello wanted so badly to apologize and play with him again. Now, however, he was dreading the moment when they'd finally meet. Matt probably wouldn't even recognize him.

Mello stared at his reflection with hatred. He could barely slide his fingers through his once beautifully long tresses. His self-esteem was in pieces, and how could it not be when he looked like a fucking porcupine with all the bristles sticking up in every direction. They took away the one thing that made him feel special and different and beautiful and strong…and it hurt. It hurt so much.

Mello slammed his fist against the reflection, hating the truth in the looking glass.

He no longer looked like a princess.

* * *

_So originally, this chapter was in two pieces: Mello's night before school and Matt's morning of school. I decided they didn't really fit together as one chapter though, so I'm splitting it off into two. That also means that the next chapter is almost completely written, so the next update will be within a week, after I'm done doing some adjustments. Sorry this chapter was so short, but the update really __**will**__ be in a few days._

_Hope you're enjoying yourselves. See ya soon. *heart*_

_*cries* Is it lame that I want to have a funeral for Mello's hair? XD_


	8. Careless Carpooling

Barbie Boy Chapter 8: Careless Carpooling

**A/N**: _Hiiiiiiiii *hugs everyone* I've not been able to log in the last couple of days. Something went funny with my e-mail address. I to reset a lot of shyt, including which email address I use for this account and blah blah blah. My one year fanfiction anniversary was last week on Thursday! I've officially been on the site for a year. We can haz guyabate now!_

_Kyoko Keehl had the idea that it would be cute to see what Mello looks like now that his hair is short, so, artists out there, would anyone be willing to draw that? I'll be holding a contest, and you can vote for the prize in the poll on my profile. Sounds like fun?_

_Oh, and some shameless self-advertising. I've written birthday pieces for Dlvvanzor and Living in a fantasy. They're called 'The L Code' and 'Indemnities', respectively. Check them out if you have a moment. They came out rather well, IMO._

_**WARNING**__: I have not lost my brain to cliché land. I swear I haven't!_

_Chapter inspired by 21__st__ Century Schizoid Man by Ozzy Osbourne….don't ask how XD_

_*cough* But you want hear about Matty's first morning of school, right?

* * *

_

"Wake up, Matty! I've got a surprise for you."

The boy rubbed the sleep from his eyes as his excited mother bounced on his bed with a laptop in her arms.

"Hey Matt. Don't you want to say 'hi' to dad?"

The redhead shot up in a sitting position and his mother giggled at him as she turned the laptop towards her son. Streaming on the screen was his father, dressed head to toe in dusty military attire and smiling like crazy, sweat dripping down his dark skin.

"Dad!" Matt was so ecstatic that he actually hugged the monitor.

Asisclo Jeevas had been gone for nearly two months and the boy was suffering from some major detachment issues. He would monopolize everything in the house that reminded him of his dad. Gina would often find Matt curled up in his father's big coat, sleeping on Asisclo's favorite armchair. They both missed him terribly but the true sufferer was Matt as he didn't have friends his age to play with. The mother and son spent most of their days together so Matt didn't generally feel alone, but the child needed the stimulation that only other children could provide. He didn't complain and for that his mother was grateful.

Mrs. Jeevas was getting a little worried, however, as she hadn't yet found a steady job to supplement their income. Highly trained, educated, and qualified for a variety of work, there shouldn't have been a problem for her. She'd completely underestimated the tight-knit community, and while she was loathe to admitting it, punching Leanne Keehl had had more consequences than just a night in jail and a misdemeanor on her record. The Jeevas family was unwanted and Gina was feeling the animosity seep through many aspects of life. The tactics were subtle: getting overcharged at the farmer's market, citations for imaginary traffic violations, and annoying things like anonymous hate mail. At least none of it was directed at Matt.

"I'm going to school today!"

"You're growing too fast, little man! By the time I come home, you're going to have a beard." Mr. Jeevas laughed through the monitor, "I have to go now. Take care of your mother, Matt."

"Bye dad! I love you!"

Gina Jeevas closed her laptop when the boys were done and set to dressing her fiery fluff ball for school.

Goatwick Elementary required uniforms. Ugly itchy uniforms. Matt hated it.

"No!" he pouted, throwing the cardinal polo to the ground.

"Matt, you have to. They won't let you go to school if you don't wear this."

"It doesn't feel very nice. I don't like it."

Matt quietly acquiesced after Gina threatened to take away his videogames. As he brushed his teeth in front of the bathroom mirror, he tried to smile at the reflection. He was uncomfortable wearing his shirt tucked into the beige pants and the collar was simply too high and suffocating. He knew adults sometimes dressed like that to go to work, but his arms couldn't breathe right like that! He wanted his fun clothes back. Matt wanted to throw the tight little black shoes off and put his well-loved tennis on his feet…at least they didn't pinch his toes.

When he sat down to eat his cereal he thought spilling some milk down his front might get him out of wearing the stupid shirt, but Gina just yelled at him.

Despite the discomfort of his uniform, Matt really _was_ excited about his first day of school. He was fidgety in the car ride and kept wondering if his teacher would be a robot or not.

"What if the pinsible eats bad kids for luntz?"

"Matt, principals don't eat children."

"Will Meadow be there?"

Mrs. Jeevas cringed. She thought her son had forgotten about the Keehl boy. There was no way Matt could be friends with the blond after the _incident_. All the hostility they felt from the community was more than enough proof of that. America: a place of liberty and justice for some. Some people were simply more _equal_ than others, and those with clout sure knew where to push. Gina turned to her son for a moment, sadness in her eyes. Would the other children carry the same prejudices as their parents? Would he feel the hatred she'd been shielding him from once he was alone in their classrooms and playground?

"Mom, look out!"

The woman whipped her head back to face the road just in time to slam the breaks.

"Shit!"

* * *

Claire Leeds was once the shining joy of her parents. She'd graduated top of her high school class and had been accepted out of state, to attend Rutger's University as a pre-med student. She'd won pageant shows for her beauty and had dedicated countless hours to improving food distribution programs for homeless. Her natural charm and charisma won over everyone's hearts, and she'd been voted 'most likely to succeed' in her senior yearbook. Perfect little Claire had perfect little dreams and perfect little plans to accomplish them. There had been just one little thing standing in her way. His name was Joseph Drum.

One night with Joseph Drum was all it took to unravel every one of Claire's dreams.

And the ridicule and shame didn't end nine months later…because by the time Benny Leeds (she couldn't bear to name him Drum) was born, Claire's parents had thrown her out of the house and few local employers wanted to hire her tainted name. The girl finally found herself in a hooka bar, and was a favorite attendant to the men who frequented there, as she provided 'extra services' in a backroom of the bar.

Claire Leeds had high hopes once. Lately, she was just high.

She was high when she pulled Benny into the street with her, not caring about the oncoming traffic as they jaywalked. She barely even looked up as she heard the screech of tires.

"Oh my God! Are you crazy? Are either of you hurt?"

The redheaded woman pulled to the curb and parked, rushing out of her car to make sure she hadn't scathed the woman or the boy walking in the street. Her heart was pounding from the adrenaline spike and she cursed her careless driving but neither the woman nor the boy seemed hurt. Claire merely shrugged and released Benny's hand as the redhead hammered her with questions. Gina Jeevas was incredulous at the brunette before her: sunken bloodshot eyes and wandering attention.

"What kind of imbecile walks into the street? Have you no common sense? And you have a kid with you…"

She couldn't tell but the boy seemed a little older than Matt. He was wearing the same uniform, though. Suddenly he bolted to the Jeevas' car and opened the side door, seating himself inside. Mrs. Jeevas ran after him and pulled the passenger door ajar, wide-eyed at the child's actions. He'd already seat belted himself next to Matt and was making introductions.

"Hi, I'm Benny. Who are you?"

"I'm Matt." The goggled boy extending his hand to the other, confusion running across his features.

"Hey kid, what do you think you're doing? You can't just get into someone's car."

"I'm just doing what momma told me to do if someone stopped for us." The brown-haired boy stated matter-of-factly.

"What exactly did your momma tell you?" Gina looked back towards the street to find that the woman was gone.

She'd left the kid.

Gina swore and kicked the curb before returning to the driver's seat. A million questions ran through her head and she didn't like the answers her imagination was supplying. Instead of driving straight to the police station, she kept her route to the school, all the while trying to get answers out of Benny. He didn't know where he lived and wouldn't tell her any information.

"Where did your mom go?"

"She disappears sometimes."

They were late so Mrs. Jeevas pulled into Goatwick and took both boys to the front office.

As soon as they walked through the door, the office worker greeted the brunette boy with a smile, "Late again, Benny."

Benny smiled back and ran right through the doors into the gated elementary, as if such mornings were a common occurrence.

"Excuse me, but that boy there, his mother sort of just vanished and I didn't know what to do with him."

The attendant looked at Gina with sympathy, "I'll make a report on file, but this isn't the first time he's shown up with complete strangers."

Matt's mother tried to keep silent as they were told Benny's story and how careless his mother was, but she couldn't help a small outburst. She refused to feel an ounce of empathy for Claire Leeds.

"That's the most pathetic story I've ever heard in my life. Why hasn't the boy been taken away from her?"

"I'm could lose my job if I told you that kind of information."

Matt didn't understand what was going on around him, or why his mom's fists had been clenched so tightly to her purse strap, but sooner than he liked, the attendance clerk was walking him down a gray hallway and his mother was no longer in sight. He was ushered into a room with about twenty other children, all sitting cross-legged on the floor.

His focus fell to the elderly man in the room, the teacher, as the door behind him was sealed.

"Welcome, welcome. Don't be shy. My name is Mr. Ruvie and I'll be your teacher."

* * *

_Umn…sorry about the tangential anecdote. If you were annoyed with Claire and Benny, so was I. Sorry about that. Necessary for later in the fic._

_Next chapter, Matt and Mello reunite!_


	9. Broken Eyes

Barbie Boy Chapter 9: Broken Eyes

_A/N_: Oh hi, remember this story? XD I was supposed to update this ages ago. XD

Well you can all thank Skylin19 for the update. ^^"

Okay, so I feel like I should say this…fifteen years ago when I was in kindergarten, it wasn't required that you attend, and they only had half-day for kinder anyhow. I realize now, via my first-grader brother's school, that kinder is now required. And it's full day. So Matt and Mello should have started kindergarten a year before, instead going straight to first grade. Oops? Then again, they were born around the same time as me when kindergartern wasn't required, so fuck it?

* * *

Recess was like heaven to little Matt Jeevas. His fidgety little legs could barely contain themselves when Mr. Ruvie dismissed the children for play time. Matt's morning had not been fun. Living with his strict military parents, he was slightly more adept than the other children at following rules and staying quiet when required, but the classroom environment had treated the young Jeevas in a less than friendly manner. The redhead needed to stretch his legs!

But Matt was a boy on mission. He straightened his goggles and reached into his pocket to make sure his treasure had survived the morning. A smile broke across his face at the thought of how happy it would make his friend.

…if he could only _find _the blond.

"Meadow!"

He called the name over and over, peeking at any and every blonde child he saw on the playground.

And while Matt was searching frantically for Mello, the Keehl boy was doing _his _very best to stay invisible, hiding himself as much as possible. Mello had found a nice little dungeon-like space under the slide where no one else was playing. His hope was that he would just be forgotten and then he could stay there until his hair grew back and he was pretty again.

Luck wasn't on Mello's side, however, as he heard a familiar voice calling his…well it wasn't _quite _his name, but it was close enough. And the voice made the boy ache inside. Instead of answering his friend's cries, Mello simply shrank into himself more and buried his hands into his shirt.

"Hey what are doing under there? Come play tag with us!"

Mello felt taps at his shoulder. There were two little girls there, smiling and trying to engage him. He recognized one from his class. Her name was…Angie? Angela?

"I'm sorry, I just want to be alone right now. Go play with someone else."

"You're mean, Mello."

He heard them walk away and concentrated once again on being invisible. He must have been doing something wrong because it wasn't working exactly…

Mello could still hear the girls as they asked other people to join their game.

"Hi I'm Katie and this is Angela. Do you want to play tag with us?"

"Hi Katie and Anzala. I'm looking for Meadow, so I can't play right now."

Mello smiled. Matt couldn't pronounce _her _name either. He felt guilty. Matt was looking for him and he couldn't do more than hide.

"Who's Meadow?" Mello heard them ask.

"Meadow is my princess!" Matt exclaimed and Mello beamed. He hadn't forgotten, even now.

"We'll play princess with you. You can go fight the dragon and kiss the sleeping princess when you save her—"

At that, the hidden child could not stay silent. "Don't touch him! You can't touch him! He's mine!"

Mello stuck his tongue out at Angela and Katie. As if he'd just let that little girl kiss Matt. _His _Matt. After all, they were married! The three children turned and looked at the boy who'd given such an abrupt outburst. Then Mello froze along the side of the playground slide. He'd acted on impulse, but now he was exposed and the reality of it was more than he was willing to deal with.

Matt was silent and just walked up to the other. "Meadow?"

Mello didn't answer, he just shut his eyes and imagined that Matt wasn't seeing him like that.

Matt brushed his fingers across Mello's hair and laughed, "It's all prickly now."

Mello hit Matt's hand away and let his feet carry him far across the playground. He buried his face behind his hands and dove around the gnarled trunk of a massive tree. The boy didn't move when he heard the soft _plop_ of a body as it claimed the grass next to him.

"Meadow, what's wrong?" Matt grabbed the other boy's shoulder but it was promptly thrown off.

"Go away, Matt. I'm ugly."

"Nuh-uh! You're not ugly."

Mello slowly slid his fingers away from his eyes and peeked at the other boy through his sniffles, "I'm…I'm not?"

Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ring and presented it to Mello, "I brought this present for you."

The blond boy began to cry as the redhead slipped the ring on his finger. He felt both really sad and inexplicably happy. For a moment he even forgot entirely about his hair. He watched the shiny trinket slide off his hand fall into the grass.

"It's too big!" he laughed.

"Wear it on this finger." Matt wiggled his thumb at the other boy, smiling.

And as the redhead hugged Mello and wiped his tears away, the blond did just that.

Unaware that her son had just given her engagement ring away to a boy, Gina Jeevas searched for a parking space in the downtown district. She was around the corner from Johnson's Milk Time Bar. Gina'd been assured by the school reception that if this was the workplace of Benny Leed's mother. And Mrs. Jeevas planned on paying that woman a visit. Not the friendly kind either.

She pulled her car to the curb and exited, tossing her purse around her shoulder and sliding a pair of sunglasses onto the bridge of her nose. The bar was dark when she pushed past the peeling paint of its wooden entrance, but the interior was nothing special. The redheaded woman marched straight to the bar and pulled a stool out, surveying the customers before sitting. A handful of unemployed drunkards and few old men sat randomly around the tables, sipping beers or playing cards and smoking. It might have made a nice portmanteau, if you were into the whisky and pool table kind of scene, that is.

"What'll it be, lady?" the man at the counter asked.

Mrs. Jeevas eyed the glass he was cleaning, which just seemed to get dirtier the more he wiped it with his filthy rage, "Actually," she leaned in closer, "I'm looking for Claire. Where might I find her?"

The bartender blinked in surprise, "You don't seem like one of her usual customers."

_Customer?_ The Jeevas woman bristled at the implication with slight embarrassment but quickly realized that she was only being teased. She would have shoved a shot glass down the bartender's throat if he'd _really_ been calling her a lesbian. She didn't need to ask the homophobia rate to understand how dangerous it would have been if she actually _had _come to the bar to solicit Claire Leeds. It wasn't that Gina cared much about strangers opinions, but she was already disliked enough in that town.

At any rate, Gina wanted to be taken seriously.

"I'm a social worker," she lied. "If Claire Leeds doesn't want her son taken into state custody, then I suggest you bring her out here, immediately."

The man yelled out to a room in the back, "Walter! Think you could come up here for a minute?"

The woman rested her arms against the bar table as 'Walter' made his appearance. He was the grandfather type. Short. Grizzly white beard and trifocals. He lowered his hat to her and turned to his employee.

The barman simply shrugged at the older man, "This social worker lady here says she has business with Claire."

The old man then gave his full attention to Gina, standing noticeable straighter as he extended his hand to her, "I'm Walter Johanson, the proprietor of this little establishment. What can I do for you, now?"

"I need to see Claire Leeds immediately. Please bring her out."

"She's busy."

"So am I. Don't make me report you for interfering with my work."

The old man sighed and set himself on the stool next to Gina, "I uh…I thought your people and our people had an understanding."

"How am I supposed to have an _understanding _ with a woman who practically jumps in front of my moving car and abandons her own son with me, a total stranger?"

Mr. Johanson licked his lips, "You're not really a social worker, are you?"

Gina's eyes widened. Well she supposed it had to be that not _everyone _in town was an idiot.

"Are you going to preach to me, now? Don't tell me that you actually like have a conscience when you prostitute-out a young single mother and keep her drugged—"

"Now you just shut your mouth and mind your own business—"

Mrs. Jeevas' hands were faster than Walter Johanson's mouth. She clamped her hands around the fatter's neck and growled, "I don't take well to receiving orders from assholes. When I was in the marines, I shot piss worms like you for less." She loosened her grip a little, remembering that she was outnumbered and in a room filled with men. "Please. I'm just asking for a little cooperation."

The bartender looked uneasy but answered for his boss, "Please calm down, ma'am. Claire's up stairs. Sixth door on the left."

Gina released the owner of the Johnson's Milk Time Bar.

"Please, follow me." The bartender directed, easing his way out from behind the counter and leading the way. She stood and nodded, making her way up the stairs and entering the room she was directed to as he held it open for her.

She groped for a light switch as soon as she entered, but the door closed abruptly behind her, enclosing her in darkness.

"Hey! Hey! Open this door right now!" She screamed, backing up ramming her entire weight into the door.

It was no use. The lock wouldn't turn. And she could only hear laughter in response to the banging of her fists. Gina's heart only beat faster and she shut her eyes trying to keep calm. Her eyes wouldn't adjust to the darkness and she stumbled about, trying to gain her bearings.

But crawling around in the dark wasn't really what worried her. It wasn't until a pair of arms snaked their way around her that Gina really started to panick.

* * *

A/N: So is any one still actually reading this story? I should really update more often…Sorry about that. I'll try my best ^^"

And Matt gave Gina's actual engagement ring to Mello XD. Pfffffft.


	10. Of Cabbages and Burger Kings

Barbie Boy Chapter 10: Of Cabbages and Burger Kings

A/N: I'm inexplicably pissed right now. And my vision is so blurry that I can barely make out the letters I'm typing. Fuck. And I am taking my anger out on the word 'chagrin'. Deplorable, unforgivable, misused word! Vanish! XD

Also, Mello's teacher...she gets upset over an aspect of Mello's picture that isn't described in this chapter. Er...well...don't hit me, please. My head already hurts enough XD

* * *

"Who are you?" a voice whispered into Gina's ear.

The redhead's muscles relaxed at the feminine touch and she slowly leaned her body back into the slight embrace, turning her head enough to make out the silhouette of her not-quite assailant.

"Claire?"

The hands removed themselves from Gina's waist and the redhead turned fully to face the smaller shadow in the room.

"Who are you?" the voice repeated.

As a form of answer, Gina Jeevas slipped her hand into her pocket and retrieved a lighter. She flicked it open and let the flame cast an eerie glow between their faces.

"You're Claire Leeds, right?"

The blonde woman nodded and then slipped forward onto the taller woman, clutching at her blouse for support. Gina nearly set the other woman's hair on fire as she struggled to keep Claire form falling on the floor while closing the lighter. But that moment was enough for Gina to see the extent of how red Claire's eyes were.

"Shit, you're really gone, aren't you?" Gina spoke to no one in particular.

She lay the younger woman down and reignited her lighter, looking for some kind of tool. After searching through the various odd assortment of junk, she found a screw driver and smiled. Then she went to work on unscrewing the hinges of the locked door.

And while Gina struggled to release herself from the makeshift prison, the children at Goatwick Elementary undertook projects of an entirely different sort.

Recess had long ended to Matt's and Mello's disappointment. But as sorrowful as their parting felt, Mello couldn't ward of his own smiles if he tried. The children parted ways and Mello returned to their respective classrooms—in opposite directions of course. His teacher, a greenhorn named Ms. Kidder, was waiting for her first grade class with their projects ready.

"Alright class, we're going to do something fun now. We're going to draw pictures about our favorite memories. When you're finished, I want you to write some words explaining what the picture is."

There was a collective response from the six-year-olds, completely positive. Mello smiled, looking at his wonderful ring that Matt had given him and knew exactly what he was going to draw. He made sure to use all the appropriate colors and did his very best with his crayon art. The costumes weren't exactly right, but Mello was satisfied with his work.

"If you don't know how to spell a word, please ask me or the aid, Mr. Luntle, and we will help you." Ms. Kidder reminded the students.

Ms. Kidder and Mr. Luntle walked around observing the children as they worked. The pictures were pretty standard: baseball games, birthday parties, eating candy...One boy even drew a picture of his cat eating a butterfly, although Mr. Luntle wasn't sure how that could have been a happy memory.

"I need help!" Mello raised his hand straight in the air, catching Mr. Luntle's attention.

The man stood over the boy, observing the picture. It seemed that Mello had drawn a room and two people in it, one with yellow hair and the other with red hair. Their stick figure hands seemed to be joined together and there were a lot of a lot of flowers in the picture. The blonde one looked like an angel with her white dress. Mr. Luntle wondered if Mello's picture was of his parents.

"How do you spell_ wedding_?"the boy asked.

Mr. Luntle was surprised that the boy had drawn a bride and groom. He helped the blond boy sound the words out and watched him scribble the word in large scrawly letters.

"Tell me about your picture, Mello. Who did you draw?"

Mello beamed and wrote some more words down on the paper. He carefully labeled himself and Matt before lifting the paper and handing it to Mr. Luntle.

"This is me and Matt when we got married. See my wedding ring?" Mello wiggled his thumb at the man and frowned a little, "I was beautiful before I got a haircut."

To say that Mr. Luntle was surprised would have been an understatement.

"Ms. Kidder, could you please come here?"

Emily Kidder approached the table to examine Mello's work, which Mr. Luntle had in his hands. She paused to admire the detailed sketch work of the six-year-old before reading the sentence description. The young teacher bit her lip, unsure and untrained with how to handle the situation. She blinked and regained her composure.

"Why, Mr. Luntle, it's only the first day of school! They're bound to do funny stuff like that." She laughed into her hand.

Mr. Luntle swallowed. "Funny? I don't know if I'd call this funny."

"It's not funny!" Mello pouted. "That's my favorite memory. Even more than the first time I tasted chocolate!"

"Oh my. That important? Well then, you be sure to treasure that picture, alright, Mello?"

Ms. Kidder smiled but on the inside she was panicking. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe it would go away on its own. After all, the boy was young and impressionable. She did make a mental note, however, to monitor Mello closely. It was quite possible that Mello had been born with a perceptual defect in his brain, but she didn't want to jump to such a lofty conclusion on a single piece of evidence. If he produced consistent examples that deviated so strongly against the norm, however…she would be forced to take action. Until then, she smiled and acted as if nothing was wrong. She wouldn't send Mello to the school psychologist unless his behavior was consistent.

"Mello, there is something that's bothering me though," she finally said to him. "Something's not quite right in this picture. This is kind of wrong."

She pointed to the part of the picture that was bothering her, "This is not normal. Do you know why?"

The boy shook his head, "It looks perfect to me."

The Keehl boy was upset. The grownups were making a fuss again about things they declined to explain. It was the same at home. People just wanted to restrict him from expressing himself in a way that showed his happiness. It was truly truly frustrating.

But at that moment, Mello wasn't the only one under scrutiny for irregularity and behavior issues.

"Crazy bitch. You broke my fucking door!"

Gina wiped her brow, which was teeming with sweat from the manual labor. It had taken quite some time, since the door still seemed jammed even after she'd popped the hinges, but the storage room hadn't been completely void of useful tools. Mrs. Jeevas thought she'd hit the jackpot with a pair of kitchen shears. But then she went and broke the blade when she'd tried to wedge it between the hinge and the wood. The real treasure revealed itself in a fold-up card table, which was promptly used to ram the door until the table cracked and the door was loose enough to push free of its frame.

"Well we'll be leaving now. Thank you for your cooperation, gentleman." Gina waved to the proprietor of the Johnson's Milk Time Bar.

In her arms she held a small carpet bag and a blanket—Claire's. The younger woman followed Gin, and she drag a disheveled Claire Leeds in her wake

"Hey, Claire's on the job right now, Missy. You can't just take her."

Gina whipped around to forced a crooked smile on Walter Johnson, "Y'know what? Claire quit. And if you have any objections, then I'll bring the police to investigate the weed stash you're hiding on the second floor."

The threat wasn't empty, but it didn't make Gina feel any safer.

If she had been a decade younger, the Jeevas woman would have broken bottles of the head of the bar's proprietor. As it was, she wasn't really in a position to be so reckless anymore. Gina spat the words at the men, but her confidence was only surface deep. She had more than a sinking suspicion that she'd face serious consequences for her little 'kidnapping action.' She didn't know if any of the men had weapons. Her sharp intuition told her that she was nearly powerless in such a situation and any physical confrontation with the men of the bar could lead to worse than injury. Once upon a time, she wouldn't have hesitated to violently push her way through and fix what she saw as a shitty reality. But she wasn't quite that selfish anymore, to take such stupid risks. With Asiclo Jeevas overseas in Iraq, Matt needed to come home to _somebody_.

Which is also the precise reason why she went for Claire in the first place. Gina's mother instincts were in hyper mode and she was extremely pissed at Claire's parenting skills. It pissed her off even more than that stupid bigot family of the Keehls. And dammnit, she was going to do something about it!

Without another word, Mrs. Jeevas guided Claire Leeds to her car and drove her to the Jeevas' home. On the way she stopped at a Jimmy's and bought a few sets of hamburgers and fries, tossing the bag to her passenger. The younger woman tore through a bag of fries and didn't utter a word of thanks.

Gina rolled her eyes as she pulled into her own driveway. If things continued that way, it was going to be like taking care of three children.

* * *

Aha, Mello's oh-so-innocent picture. XD It's more complex than meets the eye.


	11. Trash The Doll

Barbie Boy Chapter 11: Trash the Doll

A/N: Enter Light. And Mikami.

As absolutely horrific as this is going to sound, I have witnessed this game, many, many times. "Trash the doll" is something I've witnessed a group of children, ranging from ages 4 to 15 play regularly. I'm not fucking kidding.

Bronies, don't hate me. PLEASE.

Also, please read my newest miniseries, Your Hand in Mine. Thank you

* * *

Gina picked Matt and Benny up from school and brought them both home with her, explaining things as she drove.

"Hey Matt, guess what? We're gonna be brothers!"

"What?" The little redhead's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Mrs. Jeevas laughed, "Benny and his mom are going to live with us for a while, okay Matt? They're having a bit of trouble so I said it would be okay if they stayed in our spare room for a while. Won't that be fun? It'll be like a sleepover…that doesn't end the next day."

"M'tay. Do I have to share my toys?"

"Yes."

"Can I share my tores?"

"No, Matt, you still have to do your own chores."

When the three of them exited the car, Matt ran in and began giving Benny a grand tour. When they reached the kitchen, Benny broke down and started crying.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked, extremely alarmed.

"This house is nice. There's no bugs and it doesn't smell funny. And there aren't any scary people here. I don't want to leave."

The little Jeevas boy hugged the Leeds boy tightly and said, "My mom said you could live here and my mom is the very bestest and never tells lies. You can stay here forevers!"

Gina's heart nearly broke over Benny's words and she fought back tears and she joined her son in hugging the little boy. She was going to try her best to show his mother how to give this same feeling of safety and love that she gave to her own son.

Benny looked around him as he wiped his tears, "Where's my mother?"

"Your mom is out in the garden, sweetheart. Matt, why don't you take Benny outside to his mom?"

Matt guided the boy to their backyard where they found Claire Leeds knee-deep in dirt with a gardening hoe in her hand.

"Mom?" Benny asked, head cocked to one side.

Claire, somewhat sober, turned her head towards her son and said simply, "I'm making things grow."

The boys stood there for a few moments, watching the woman as she tilled the earth, but as she simply ignored them, they went back into the house for some juice.

"Matt, have you seen my engagement ring from daddy? I could have sworn I left it on my dresser."

Matt shook his head. He couldn't tell her that he'd given it to Mello.

Around the same time, Mello and Misa were sitting in their own kitchen, eating cookies. Well, Mello was eating cookies and Misa was looking out of the window trying to catch a glimpse of their new neighbors. Mrs. Keehl had met the single mother earlier in the week and told her family about them during dinner a few nights prior. One mother with a boy a few years older than Misa. And they had some prior acquaintance with the Yagami family. Other than that, she didn't know anything about them but she told her children to help their new neighbors adjust in any way possible. So when Misa spotted a dark-haired boy fumbling about with a rope and a baseball bat in the front yard of the neighbor's house, she grabbed the plate of cookies and practically dragged Mello outside to say hello.

"Hi." Waved Misa, shyly.

"Hi." Returned the dark-haired boy. He flashed the siblings a smile and gave his name, "I'm Teru. Teru Mikami."

Misa blushed and looked really happy, "I'm Misa and this is Mello. We live next door. Feel free to ask us about anything. _Anything_."

Mello thought he was going to gag. He didn't know Misa was being so flirty because she wanted to use the new neighbor in order to get closer to Light.

"I thought you liked that Light boy from two streets down, Mi—"

Misa nudged Mello in the ribs, "That's right, Mikami! You should meet Light Yagami. I think you guys are around the same age and would get along really well. We could take you to go meet him."

"Ah, you guys are friends with Light? That's great. I've known him for a long time. He's coming soon to play a game with me actually. But you know, more friends would be nice…" Teru mused. "Maybe…maybe you guys want to play with us?"

Misa eyed the rope and the bat in the boy's hands, "Oh? Yes, yes, we definitely want to play with you and _Light_. Don't we Mello? _Don't we?_"

Mello nodded. His sister was scary sometimes.

Mello didn't pay much attention to what his sister and the new neighbor boy were talking about so he was surprised when he suddenly that Light Yagami had joined the little party. He found himself walking into Teru's backyard, where Light and Teru tied a rope around a tree. He watched the boys tie a funny loop onto the end of it, it looked like a circle at the end of the rope, but it wasn't very large…maybe big enough to slip your head around. As it hung from the tree, it reminded Mello of a dog's leash.

"Mello, can you hand me that bag over there?" Light asked.

Misa practically jumped over her brother to grab the bag for her crush and she tried to bat her eyes innocently at him as she gave him her best sugary tone, "H-here you go, Light."

"Umn. Right. Thanks, Misa."

Misa squealed in delight over being acknowledged. Teru snickered. Light Yagami, pulled from the bag a small purple horse that had a heart tattooed on its butt. Mello recognized it from a television show that his sister liked to watch. It was something about ponies. He didn't like it much.

"Twilight Sparkle! She's so pretty! I didn't know you liked _My Little Pony_, Light!"

Light smirked, "It's my sister, Sayu's. Or was. I doubt she'll want it much after what we're going to do to it."

Light tied the circular part of the rope around the pony's neck and tightened it until the pony was hanging from the tree like some candy-less piñata. Teru took the bat and began beating it. Mello and Misa blinked at each other. What kind of game was this? With every strike, the little pony gained scuffs and dents. Mello wasn't so sure of this new game. It didn't seem right to tie up your toy and beat it up, but he was afraid to say anything, and apparently so was Misa because both the Keehl children were deadly silent as the two older boys continued their strange ritual.

And then it was Misa's turn.

She took the bat hesitantly from Teru, but swallowed her uncertainty when Light flashed her one of his thousand-watt smiles. And with a smile kissed the bat and slugged the pony. Over. And over. And over.

Again and again.

At some point, Teru began singing. It was a weird song with a strange melody, but only Mello seemed to be creeped-out by it. By the time it was Mello's turn, he was only one not singing.

Mello cringed at took a whack at the toy, closing his eyes as he made the impact. A large cracking sound made him open his eyes quickly.

"Alright!" he heard Light shout, "You got the head!"

In his one swing, he'd managed to break the body partially from its head. Horrified, the boy watched as the horse's torso dangled from an internal rubber band, but it looked like it was ready to fall completely away from its plastic head. Standing there with the bat in hand, Mello couldn't help but feel like that poor little toy—beat up without a reason. He swallowed and wondered if they'd get in trouble for breaking it.

As Light patted him on the back, the little boy felt really lost and wondered if there wasn't some kind of invisible noose that he himself was dangling from.

* * *

*dodges bullets from the bronies*. T_T SORRY. THIS IS BASED ON REAL LIFE (well the game is, anyway).

NOTE ON THE ORIGIN OF THE TRASH THE DOLL GAME: Traditionally speaking, this game is played with a Boo doll. And when I say, Boo, I mean as in the adorable little girl from Monsters Inc the movie. A talking version that says "Mike Wazowski" to be exact. But she is never referred to as anything but 'The Chucky Doll'. Yeah, the kids who play this use a reference to the Chucky movies as well. And any toy they play with can be referred to as being…"possessed" but just adding the name 'Chucky' in front of it. Like a beanie baby of a squirrel can instantly become 'The Chucky Squirrel' and is treated like it's some evil object that must be punished. Actually, my little brother wrote a song to sing while playing this game…it's supposed to be sung to the song that Boo sings in Monsters Inc, you know the one that goes "Baby comes along…ect…" I was denied permission to use the lyrics in this story, or I would have.

Yeah.


	12. Keeping Up Appearances Part 1

Barbie Boy Chapter 12: Keeping up Appearances Part 1

A/N: I updated chapter recently, so go back and read it if you missed it. Ah, hell, this entire story is so short, you might as well reread the whole thing from chapter 1 so you remember what in sam hill is going on XD.

* * *

September faded and with it, the autumn cycle began. The world around Goatwick Elementary school seemed to glitter in many shades of orange as the maple trees dusted the ground with golden leaves. October was soon gone as well, with Thanksgiving only two weeks away. Mrs. Jeevas was particularly happy to have Halloween behind her as the post-cleanup had taken more of her free time than was sane. Someone had egged the house and tee-peed the trees of her front lawn to the point that she was spending her afternoons installing a chain link fence with a heavy padlock. School days fell into a good rhythm while she took Benny and Matt to school and spent the day time teaching Claire how to be a self-sustainable mother, and while the younger woman was still unemployed she was at the very least, engaging in her own son's nutrition and health. Matt was just happy to have someone to play with after a long day at school, especially since Mrs. Keehl had made it her crusade to convince the other parents to keep their children far away from the Jeevas child. Matt didn't know why all of his classmates rejected his invitations to play and simply contented himself with having recess-only friends. For the redhead liked only play time and was easily bored with classes, especially Mondays, since those were the days Mr. Ruvie sent him to Ms. Holly's class. Ms. Holly was the school's speech instructor and Matt hated the way she made funny faces at him and expected him to copy her. It wasn't like it helped him to pronounce any better when he moved his lips and tongue to match hers. He talked funny no matter how hard he tried.

"Matt, please put your tongue behind the top ridge of your teeth,

"Wike dis?"

"Yes, now move your finger _out _of your mouth, please. Now say 'shark.'"

"Slock."

Ms. Holly's methods proved somewhat...ineffective.

Thus, the only time Matt truly felt happy while at school, were the moments he spent playing with Mello. Despite Leanne Keehl's efforts to ostracize the Jeevas boy, there wasn't really anything she could do to keep them apart during the supervised school recesses.

If Mrs. Keehl had spent more time watching her son's behavior, she might have realized that Mello was having an internal crisis. His teacher was rather unhappy with his progression, particularly in writing and artwork. Ms. Kidder seemed displeased with nearly all of his assignments, and he couldn't figure out why. The little blond boy felt like the adults in his world were just picking on him and his teacher seemed to single him out for misbehavior. But all of this went unnoticed by Mello's mother until the day he came home with an alarming letter.

When Mello went home from school that day, he couldn't have foreseen how much trouble that one sheet of paper could cause. Things might have been less severe if Aunt Halle hadn't been babysitting that day. If she had known the disaster waiting for her, Leanne might have never asked her sister to watch the house and kids for the weekend spiritual retreat she spent with her church group. Leanne would have stayed home, taken the letter, burned it, hid the entire incident from her husband, and had a serious talk with Mello. As it was, she wasn't home and Halle was the one to first receive the letter, and from the moment she perused its contents, a tempest of trouble swept through the Keehl household.

_Dear Mr. or Mrs. Keehl,_

_ It is my displeasure to inform you that your son Mello has displayed unsatisfactory behavior in the learning environment. Attached is a picture that Mello drew, and if you pay attention to the labeling, you'll notice how strange the caption is. Your son's behavior can only be described as abnormal and I suggest we hold a conference to decide how to deal with his condition. I believe it is in Mello's best interest if he were see a specialist, as these problems tend to worsen with time. Since he is young, I'm confident we can reverse the problem before it has any affect on Mello's social status and self-esteem. Please come see me on Monday Morning at 7:35.  
_

_ Sincerely,  
_

_ Emily Kidder  
_

Unfortunately for Mello, the enclosed picture was the one he drew of his wedding with Matt, and of all the adults to remember the after-effects that union, Halle was the least favorable. She was literally seething._  
_

"Mello! What is the meaning of this picture. Don't tell me you've been seeing that redheaded boy at school? Don't you remember what he did to you?"

Misa stood by as Mello explained and cried under the icy glare of their aunt. And while Mello cried so pitifully, she couldn't stop her own tears from flowing. Tears were contagious and Aunt Halle was almost as scary as her daddy. The adult blonde hounded the little boy and squeezed every last detail from him, reducing him to nothing more than a pile of sobs.

"Clean yourselves up and get in the car."

"Where are we going?"

"Misa, just shut up and get in the car!"

Everyone knew where the Jeevases lived, and in town where the gossip spread faster than a text message, she decided it was in the family's best interest if she confronted her enemies face on. She rushed Misa and Mello into the car and drove a ways away from the Jeevas residence, making sure to park her car an inconspicuous two blocks away lest anyone think she was actually _visiting _that redheaded woman and her son. Halle wanted nothing more but to take a baseball bat and smash every window in on that house, but she kept herself poised and calm, bottling away her rage for a later time. She needed to make the current problem disappear before it spiraled into something socially damaging. After all, her father was a politician, and as a politician's grandson, Mello was not allowed to be involved in scandals. There could be no trace of a scandal _any where.__  
_

Gina was leaning on the porch as the Keehl children and Ms. Lidner trekked up her driveway. She pulled out the cigarette that had been dangling between her teeth and frowned.

"Whatever you're here for, it had better start with 'I' and end with 'apologize'. "

Halle eyed the cigarette but didn't protest against it. Instead she put her hands around Mello's and Misa's mouths before continuing."We need to talk."

"Talk?" Gina's eyes widened, "You people in this town have been trying to turn my life to shit for months and you think I'm going to just open my door and invite you for tea? Get off of my property."

Halle blushed. She'd rushed to the Jeevas house on impulse, but now that she was there, she realized her only bargaining tool was something she wasn't keen on giving up. But she couldn't just leave after coming. She had to put an offer on the table or risk losing even more face.

"What if I said I could get people to stop harassing you?"

The redhead laughed, "You mean you'll convince your neighbors to stop glaring at me when I go to the market? I won't get my tires slashed anymore? No more graffiti on the veranda? That sort of thing?"

Halle swallowed, "Well, I can't make any any promises but—"

Mrs. Jeevas raised her hand to stop the blonde from speaking. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Instead she turned around and opened the door, walking in without a word. When nobody followed her, she turned her head and spoke in a tone of resignation.

"Well are you going to just stand there or come in? Have those kids had dinner yet?"

Misa and Mello followed Halle into the Jeevas' house and closed the door behind them. Mello was kind of happy, because he knew he was going to see Matt, but he couldn't shake his feeling of foreboding...something bad was going to happen, and he couldn't help but feel like it was his fault.

* * *

A/N: So, I have an uncle who cheated on his wife, and she shot him in the leg. He stayed with her. Cheated again. She shot him a second time. He stayed. Cheated again. One day he woke up to the maid screaming because she was standing over him with a butcher knife only inches away from his penis. Oh and he was sleeping naked because this was Haiti in the summer. So he sees her with this wild look in her eyes and the knife too close to his dingaling and jumps up and runs away and never returns.

And I forgot why I decided to tell that story. But umn...right. I'm gonna go insane in the corner while I study for finals. Please subscribe to my stories for updates! And it's helpful if you review and tell me what you like/dislike about story so I can keep quality control! Thanks, byee!


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